TOKYO - Capital spending by Japanese companies in the January-March quarter was flat from a year earlier, as strong investment in the nonmanufacturing sector helped to offset falls among manufacturers, government data showed Monday.
Investment by all nonfinancial sectors for purposes such as building plants and purchasing equipment totaled 18.81 trillion yen ($118 billion), edging up 0.047 percent from a year earlier, for the fifth straight quarterly gain, the Finance Ministry said.
Major sectors that saw increased capital spending included goods rental and leasing, while information and communication electronics equipment industry saw a decrease.
In the first quarter of 2026, pretax profits jumped 14.6 percent to 32.63 trillion yen, logging a rise for the sixth straight quarter, it said.
Sales gained 1.1 percent to 408.66 trillion yen, on the back of robust manufacturing demand for artificial intelligence technology, data centers and factory automation, it said.
The latest figures will be used to revise Japan's gross domestic product data for the January-March period, which showed the economy grew an annualized real 2.1 percent, marking the second straight quarterly expansion.
The Cabinet Office will release the revised GDP data on June 8.
